Being originally from the East Coast I never realized how beautiful the desert is in the spring. For a few weeks each spring, it literally explodes with color. These desert sunflowers stretched all the way back to the mountain range in the distance. While walking through the field to get this vantage point I noticed hundreds of large green and black caterpillars that were taking advantage of this beautiful food source. If you touched them they spit up all over your hands some kind of nasty goop. I used a fisheye lens to take this image so you will notice the curved horizon. It doesn’t bother me that much because I wanted to show the vastness of the field while still getting some of the storm clouds. I also processed this from three images (-2, 0, 2) using Photomatix. The final HDR image was then smoothed out with Noiseware Professional Edition.

8 responses to Anza Borrego Desert Sunflowers – Borrego Springs, CA

If you want a fun road trip, head out to Death Valley in early spring. Lotta cool landscapes, painted canyon, alluvial fans, and desert flora. Bring some warm clothes, extra water & supplies (in case). The tour of Scotty’s Castle is worth it.

I, too, am from the east coast, and I arrived on the plains in Colorado just in time to see the cactus flower bloom. Spring is indeed special out there — I hold it in my heart. Thanks for reminding me to hold it in front of my eyes, too!